Inside HYACYN Founder Tobias Ulmer's Manhattan Haven

Lucía Torres · 2026-06-25

Contemporary fashion, meet residential design. That's the dynamic at 287 East Houston Street #8A, an open-concept, floor-through home with soaring 10-foot ceilings and walls of windows that flood the space with natural light from dawn to dusk. This chic, gallery-quality space is exactly what you'd expect from a designer who specializes in melding mood, material, and silhouette. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom floor-through residence belongs to Tobias Ulmer, the German-born founder and creative director of HYACYN, the New York fashion label known for fusing sharp tailoring with a distinctly rebellious, subculture-driven attitude. Ulmer has called this Lower East Side home since 2019, the same year he relocated to New York and began the pivot from advertising into fashion, eventually launching his label, HYACYN. Six years and one runway show at New York Fashion Week later, the same instincts that shaped his collections are unmistakably present in the apartment he's lived in and designed throughout that entire journey. ### A Kitchen Built for Connection At the heart of the home, represented by The Agency New York's John Antretter and Brigitte Pays, is a kitchen built for gatherings. Custom Alta Italian cabinetry pairs with honed Carrara marble countertops—recently restored to a pristine finish—with a generous island anchoring the open layout, which connects to a dining space. The appliance suite is all Miele, including a vented hood, rounding out a kitchen that's as serious about performance as it is about style. ### Views That Shift and Surprise From the main living space, sweeping, protected views stretch from Downtown Brooklyn to One World Trade. Flip to the north-facing primary suite, and the skyline shifts entirely — the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building anchor the view, turning the bedroom into its own kind of postcard. The primary suite's ensuite bath leans fully into its spa-inspired identity: heated floors, a double vanity, and a material palette of Bianco Dolomite and Gray Danube marble. ### Outdoor Living with a Skyline Backdrop A south-facing, 118-square-foot private terrace extends the living space outdoors—big enough for morning coffee, a dinner party, or simply watching the sun set behind the skyline. It's a rare slice of outdoor space in the city that adds a whole new dimension to the home. ### Practical Touches That Matter Throughout the home, wide-plank 7-inch whitewashed oak flooring ties everything together, while an in-unit Miele washer/dryer and exceptional closet space—including a walk-in off the primary suite—handle the practical side of downtown living without ever feeling like an afterthought. ### Why This Home Stands Out For anyone drawn to the intersection of fashion, design, and downtown New York living, 287 East Houston Street #8A is about as close as real estate gets to owning a piece of someone else's creative vision—fully realized, ten floors up, with city views in every direction. > "This apartment is a reflection of how I approach everything: with intention, texture, and a bit of rebellion." — Tobias Ulmer To learn more about 287 East Houston Street #8A or to schedule a showing, contact John Antretter or Brigitte Pays.